March 2009

EPC Working to Bring ENERGY STAR® Mortgages to Other States

The Maine launch of the ENERGY STAR® Mortgage Program is the start of what is aimed to be a broad-based effort to help lower residential energy use and stabilize housing on a national scale, said EPC Director Mark Wolfe.

“One of the reasons we started in Maine was because the Maine State Housing Authority already has significant energy programs and a real, deep commitment to coming up with creative ways to help finance housing, as well as including energy as part of that,” he said.

EPC program staff is currently working with housing and energy agencies and lenders who have expressed a desire to launch the ENERGY STAR Mortgage Program this year in states including Colorado, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and the District of Columbia.

“The plan is to mix energy efficiency with mortgage lending, and the ability to use ENERGY STAR to sell this product to consumers all over the United States,” said EPC Managing Director Howard Banker.